I have a confession to make. Oh, it’s nothing awful but, all the same, I need to get it off my chest. It concerns dinner tonight. Why would I have to make a confession about dinner? Well, normally it is just Chris and me so when I think something tastes a bit funny, for example mince (mince often tastes funny to me which is why I sometimes go vegetarian), I might ask Chris, “Do you think this mince tastes peculiar?” And when I ask him that he always comes around to my way of thinking and we throw it out and go veggie for a while. Anyway, it wasn’t mince, it was a beef casserole with dumplings…

When I tasted my first mouthful of dumpling I thought, “That’s odd, it tastes like I used old suet.” I know what old suet tastes like because I once made a spotted dick (not to be confused with Moby Dick) for Dad and when I checked the date on the suet packet it was about three years out of date – and it tasted like it! But it wasn’t old suet to blame this time because I didn’t have any suet in the cupboards and I had to make the dumplings from vegetable fat, not out of date; I checked on the Internet first to make sure that you could make dumplings from anything but suet – they advised any other fat but they got it wrong – the dumplings were exceedingly light but dry and floury. I noticed that neither Chris, nor Susannah and Darren (our daughter and her boyfriend) went back for second dumplings, which is weird seeing as they were so keen on dumplings initially.

“Another dumpling?” I offered.

“They are quite filling,” answered Susannah, patting her stomach.

However, I must conclude that the dumplings, though definitely odd, were not responsible for the “old” taste that I could detect. I wondered if it was the herbs I had used, in both the dumplings and the casserole itself – a double whammy! But, no, it wasn’t a herb taste… and my mixed herbs were fresh; well, not fresh – they are dried – but newly bought.

As I delved into the meat and vegetable part of the dish my taste buds continued to assailed by the “old suet” flavour and, whilst the conversation around the table carried on, my mind wandered back to the steps of casserole preparation. There were the potatoes – bought on Saturday, no queries about them. Likewise the carrots and the onions – perfection. Ah, but what about that quarter of a swede (an orange vegetable – not a person from Sweden!); yes, what about that bit of swede I had found in the vegetable drawer of the fridge? Some of it had gone into the pumpkin soup and that tasted alright – didn’t it? Or did it have a slightly “old” taste? Or was that the previous pumpkin soup from last week? It could have been… It probably was… oh dear. That bit of swede still looked okay….

All I can say is that nobody mentioned anything about the funny taste, but that there was plenty left over for tomorrow… if anyone should have a yearning. I say, want to join us for lunch? Or have a doggy-bag? Yes, do call around if you’re longing for hearty winter warming food with funny dumplings, but please, don’t let on to Chris, Susannah or Darren about the suspect swede. Shh!

And here is a quote from Moby Dick, which could have some resonance with the diners at our house tonight (if they read this, which I hope they won’t) – “I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I’ll go to it laughing.”